Sep 1 is just around the corner, and there are a few things we as teachers can do to make our personal lives a little easier, so our professional lives can be focused on helping the kids we love. I call these things luxcessaries (necessary luxuries), and below are a few of my favorites specific to our fair city.
Get an Ayi: I waited way, way too long to take part in this staple of expat life! I was wracked with guilt, because “I’m a healthy competent adult who can clean up after herself, I shouldn’t pay someone to do it!” But when I have a day filled with crying children separated from their mothers for the first time, ten meetings that could have been an email, parents who ‘’just need me for five minutes,” and a stack of paperwork to complete before the first bell tomorrow, keeping my living space tidy often falls to the bottom of my list of priorities. There is nothing that can compare to walking into a clean home at the end of an exhausting day. Hiring an ayi has been worth every single penny, and I got over the guilt real quick!
Upgrade Your Ziroom-Supplied Bed: A good night’s sleep is vital for a positive day in class, but I find standard beds here to be, well, painful. It’s a personal opinion, but one I know a lot of Westerners share. Treat yo’ self! Spend a few RMB on Taobao and get a mattress topper, some good pillows, and soft sheets. The extra Z’s will be so worth it!
Wine Club: It’s no secret I enjoy a nice glass of wine at the end of the day, and WeChat makes getting one even easier. Join a group like We Heart Wine or Morgan’s Cheese and Wine Group. They post regular specials and curated cases at incredibly reasonable prices, and will deliver them directly to your door!
Remix Your Commute: I bike to work whenever I can, partly to get the endorphin rush from a little morning exercise and partly to try and work off the calories from the aforementioned wine. So I pay for the unlimited Hello Bike app to cut a few minutes off my commute time (check out the how-to here). No matter how you get to work, make it “me time” by downloading some new tunes, a podcast, or a audio book you have been dying to hear. Teachers are nerds at heart, but ironically, the things we love to do like reading and listening to lectures on the history of macramé fall by the wayside during the hectic school year. That hour spent on the bike or the train could end up being your favorite part of the day.
Jiayou Box: OK, this one is super cheesy. At the start of the school year, I make myself a “You can do it!” box. I fill it with little treats, cards, or pictures from old students and positive notes to myself and I hide it in my classroom or office. When I am having one of those days where I feel like I should have gone into something soulless but financially practical like banking or app development, I close my eyes, stick my hand into the box, and randomly grab something out of it. Whatever it is usually makes me smile. My expat twist is I save all the hard-to-get stuff, like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or Trader Joe’s snacks in the box.
That’s my list! What are your luxcessaries?
Images: Unsplash
KEEP READING: Making Your Temporary House Feel Like a Forever Home on a Budget
